NORMAL, Ill. – A long offseason of training and 13 practices during spring training camp have been completed for Illinois State Football, which can see the light at the end of the tunnel as spring workouts come to an end on Saturday. On Thursday morning, the Redbirds went through their final fully-padded practice of the spring before the upcoming scrimmage on Saturday.
Practice Highlights:
• Practice began with a quick install period, followed by a full team stretch period and a special teams circuit.
• After individual position drills, action moved to the first team period of the day and the passing under pressure drill … Beckham Pellant got things started with a completion to Stevan Gavric, but he was then sacked on the second play by Solomon Oduma … later in the drill Gage Roy had consecutive completions to Mar'Quan Gary and Ethan Loss … the defense got the last laugh as Aidan Crews picked off a pass on a deep bomb attempt down the field.
• The defense kept the pressure coming in the blitz drill that followed, with Roy connecting twice for nice gains with Dylan Lord … Pellant was also efficient, completing all three of his attempts with two finding the hands of Ian Willis … the defense was able to get a stop on a pass deflection at the line by Logan Jellison to wrap things up.
• After wide receiver/defensive back 1-on-1s and the 9-on-7 period, a quick perimeter drill followed before the 7-on-7 session commenced … Pellant was 3-for-4, with completions to Lord, Luke Mailander and Nick True, while Roy was also 3-for-4 in the red zone including an 17-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Loss … not to be outdone, the defense forced three breakups during the session from Jack Oliver, Rylan Crawford and Wyatt Mueller.
• From there, an offensive red zone session started and the first-team unit wasted little time scoring needing just one play from Pellant who found Lord for a 24-yard touchdown … the defense came up big on the second possession, forcing a field goal attempt after a TFL by Jellison on third down … the third-team unit was able to pick up a first down but stalled at the 3-yard line after a combined TFL by Josh Gettemy and Ju'Maria Hamilton.
• The ball then moved to the 17 yard line for three more series, with the first-team scoring in six plays on a three-yard touchdown pass from Roy to Mailander … the second-team unit was behind the sticks early after a sack on first down by Ben Cooper and was not able to convert … on the final attempt, the third-team unit scored in four plays as Anthony Hall barreled his way into the endzone from four yards out for the touchdown.
Up Next:
The Redbirds will have one final tune-up on Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., before holding the annual Spring Showcase Scrimmage on Saturday, April 11, at 1 p.m. at Hancock Stadium.
For updates, photos, and video from 2026 Redbird Football Spring Camp, follow the team's official X (@RedbirdFB) and Instagram (isuredbirdfb) accounts and log onto GoRedbirds.com.
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